I am sorry to return to the issue, but I was a little puzzled by the specific exception in respect of legal professional privilege that the Government felt the need to incorporate under the clause, which states:

''A production order does not require a person to produce, or give access to, privileged material, except that a lawyer may be required to produce material containing only the name and address of a client of his.''

I seek some enlightenment from the Minister. Why was it felt necessary to include such a provision? If we refer to the legal bible, ''Archbold'', about the nature of legal and professional privilege, we find references to examples of material that may not be subject to the privilege. I cannot find any reference to the specific exclusion of a client's name and address, but I may be wrong. Even if it were excluded from privileged material, why is there a need to spell that out explicitly when that could be the subject of argument when the case came before the judge for determination?

I assume that the Government and their draftsmen had a specific intention in mind. The mere fact that they spell out such a provision explicitly rings an alarm bell with me, in that there is an intention to restrict legal professional privilege in such instances. It is possible to do that by specific reference under statute, but why do the Government wish to do that?

It is noteworthy that there are no notes to clause 337 in the explanatory notes. What is intended? Perhaps I am wrong, but I had always assumed that if a client came to me for legal advice, the legal professional privilege extended to a duty of confidentiality towards him in respect of what he told me, the fact that had been to see me at all, and certainly his name and address. If I consulted my professional body, perhaps I would be told that I should provide such material. Whether or not such knowledge is confidential, why are such matters being spelled out explicitly under the clause if it is not the intention to restrict legal professional privilege in such a fashion?